用“观鸟”的方式看世界

When my husband and I spotted a dusky brown bird bobbing on a rock in a stream not far from the family home in rural Zhejiang, a feeling of excitement swept through me.

我和丈夫在他浙江农村老家的小河边，看到一只棕色的小鸟站在石头上。我立刻感到很兴奋。

"That's a dipper, I'm certain of it!" I whispered in his ear, prompting him to reach for the camera draped over his shoulder and snap a photo.

“那肯定是一只河乌！”我小声告诉丈夫，让他抓拍照片。

The last time I laid eyes on such a bird was in Yosemite National Park, while trudging up switchbacks that rose 1,000 feet from the valley floor to the top of Upper Yosemite Falls. There, I encountered a bird perched on a rock near the cascading waters, and my hunch was later confirmed in the pages of the North American bird guide in my backpack: I had seen an American dipper. 

我上次见到这种小鸟还是在在美国的优胜美地国家公园。当时我正在徒步前往1000英尺高的上约塞米蒂瀑布，然后就看见一只小鸟落在水边的石头上。后来，我的背包里的北美鸟类指南一书印证了我当时的直觉，我看到的是美洲河乌。

The sweat slathered across my brow as well as sore feet and legs seemed a worthy trade-off for a glimpse of the only aquatic songbird in North America and one capable of "flying" underwater, as a nature documentary on TV had revealed. 

能看到这种北美唯一的水栖鸟类，让我觉得徒步带来的汗流浃背和腰酸腿疼都是值得的。电视纪录片里曾经讲过，这种鸟可以在水下“飞行”。

It didn't count as a rare sighting, since the dipper isn't endangered. Still, the majesty of one of America's most picturesque national parks framed the moment, leading me to cherish this bird — one not native to the Cleveland, Ohio, region where I grew up — all the more.

河乌并不是珍稀鸟类，所以也没那么难见到，不过优山美地国家公园风景如画，衬托得这只鸟格外珍贵，毕竟我的老家——俄亥俄州的克利夫兰——并不是河乌的老家。

Never did I expect that, instead of spending hours on a strenuous hike up the granite cliffs of Yosemite, I only needed to venture on a short walk from my husband's family home, tracing a mountain creek that cut through the valley.

我也从未想过，不用在优山美地花费数小时爬山，就能在我丈夫老家的小河边看到这种鸟。

This brown dipper, as if taking the stream as a stage, didn't disappoint with its performance. It "danced" before us on the rock and then flew off in a dramatic flourish, belting out a rhythmic series of "bzzzzzzzt" calls that sounded like raspy, but adorable, whistles. 

这只小鸟似乎把小河当作舞台，在我们面前翩翩起舞，飞走时还发出低语般的叫声。

Jun's camera, meanwhile, kept clicking away with such a singular focus, reflecting how much he had also embraced this charming little bird.

我丈夫骏一直在按相机快门，说明他也非常喜欢这只魅力非凡的小鸟。

Why had Jun, who had long known of my passion for bird-watching, never mentioned the dippers in his hometown? The answer surprised me he hadn't seen them before. Had their drab, brown plumage rendered the dippers forgettable, or easily confused with others?  Or had the birds, after years of seeking refuge in wilder and more remote streams, quietly reclaimed their place in the village as the local environment improved? 

骏一直知道我喜欢观鸟，但为什么从来不提老家有河乌呢？答案令我惊讶：他从未见过这种鸟。是河乌太不引人注目，还是容易和其它鸟类混淆？或者因为当地环境改善，这种鸟才从遥远偏僻的河流回归村庄？

Whatever the reason, their discovery sparked the formation of our two-person "Rural Zhejiang Bird-watching Club". 

不过无论原因如何，这个发现让我们夫妻俩组成了“浙江农村观鸟俱乐部”。

Together, we remapped the entire landscape of Jun's village with further sightings of birds new to one or both of us, from the jewel-like kingfisher and its rainbow of plumage that shimmered in the sun to the nearly four-foot wingspan of a large owl that catapulted out of the bushes and passed above our astonished faces. Each sighting added a fresh layer of fascination to our lives and the feeling that, even in familiar territory, we could always encounter something new. 

我们走遍骏的村庄，发现了很多新奇的鸟类。从翠鸟到猫头鹰，每次观鸟都让我们的生活添加了色彩。在这片熟悉土地上，我们总能发现新事物。

So next time you're out in a park, the woods or even just a countryside village, keep an eye open for those feathered friends flitting about. With a little patience — and luck — you too can experience the transformative power of having a "bird-watcher's-eye view" of the world.

所以当你下次去公园、森林或乡下时，注意看那些小鸟吧。只需一点耐心和运气，你也可以用“观鸟者的角度”看世界。